Healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente has committed $25 million to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s newly announced fund to combat homelessness in California.
In a Jan. 8 preview of his 2020-21 billion budget proposal, Newsom announced the creation of a $750 million California Access to Housing and Services Fund that will focus on prevention and early intervention by paying rent for people who are experiencing homelessness or on the verge of losing housing.
It will support local governments in developing more low-income housing units, while also helping to stabilize board-and-care facilities.
Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO Greg Adams said safe and stable housing is “key to a person’s physical, mental and social health.”
Chronic homelessness, he said, has been shown to cut 27 years from the average life span and is associated with communicable diseases such as hepatitis and typhus, increased hospitalizations and frequent readmissions.
“Our investment in the fund aligns with Kaiser Permanente’s overall strategy to preserve affordable housing and prevent displacement of existing residents while addressing the root causes of homelessness in our communities,” Adams said in a statement.
In recent years, the Oakland-based healthcare provider said it has invested $200 million in support of community health, primarily targeting affordable housing.
Newsom’s budget proposal includes an executive order requiring state agencies to take action by Jan. 31 to make state properties and facilities available as increased housing and shelter options.
The action also calls for a supply of 100 camp trailers that can be used as temporary housing – coupled with mobile health and social services clinics – to be deployed across California to communities in need.
Crisis response teams would likewise be available to assist communities in utilizing state resources.
“The State of California is treating homelessness as a real emergency – because it is one,” Newsom said in announcing his plan. “Californians are demanding that all levels of government – federal, state and local – do more to get people off the streets and into services – whether that’s housing, mental health services, substance abuse treatment or all of the above.”
